INQUIRY: “A process of critical thinking.”
Some notes and thoughts from Kyra’s presentation on inquiry:
- Be present and patient (this reminds me of my own plants, while we technically watch them grow, it can be harder to see when you look at them every day)
- Value the process over the product (we say to do that in life often, but the education system itself does not seem to be structured this way)
- No day or lesson actually goes how you plan it, be ready for surprises, get to know your learners
- What am I learning about my learning?
- Use verbs to deepen learning (we learn by doing)
- When asking students (or anyone) to do something, give them a starting point or foundation
I really enjoyed Kyra’s closing sentiment with this activity, noting that the more time we spend with something, the better we get to know it. I also find this to be invaluable in self-knowledge and self awareness. We have to spend time with and within ourselves, to locate who we are and our values, in order to be present and connected in our world.
My piece of evidence for having met this class objective my page from the plant observation activity we did with Kyra. It shows my understanding that inquiry takes time, and that even though we may find some answers and conclusions, we continue to learn, grown, and investigate more as both learners and educators. I really enjoyed the reminder to reflect on my own learning as well. I hope I can model for students how to have a good balance of confidence and humility amidst my learning and inquiring.
